This invention relates generally to display systems and, more particularly, to virtual display systems.
A virtual display system requires a support structure for securely mounting a lens or group of lenses between a user and a display device. One possible approach to supporting a group of lenses in a virtual display would be to create a structure for each of the lenses. However, because the lenses have different shapes, manufacturing costs would be quite large in order to produce support structures for each of the lenses of the display system. Further, a structure for a lens may block a portion of the field of that lens. Therefore, there exists an unmet need in the art for a support structure that can accommodate differently shaped lenses of a virtual display system.
The present invention provides a support structure that supports differently shaped lenses of a display system without obscuring a field of view of any of the lenses, thus reducing manufacturing costs for the display system.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a support structure for a display system. The support structure includes at least one pentagon-shaped lens, at least two hexagon-shaped lenses, and at least two hexagon-shaped supports. The at least two hexagon-shaped supports support the at least one pentagon-shaped lens and the at least two hexagon-shaped lenses. Each of the hexagon-shaped supports is securely attached to one of the hexagon-shaped lenses and one edge of the pentagon-shaped lens.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a display system that includes a plurality of display devices, at least one pentagon-shaped lens, at least two hexagon-shaped lenses, and at least two hexagon-shaped supports. The at least two hexagon-shaped supports support the at least one pentagon-shaped lens and the at least two hexagon-shaped lenses at a predetermined distance from the plurality of display devices. Each of the hexagon-shaped lenses is securely attached to one of the hexagon-shaped supports and one edge of the pentagon-shaped lens.
According to an aspect of the invention, each of the two or more hexagon-shaped supports suitably includes six support sides, and two of the six support sides may be approximately twice as thick as the other four of the six support sides. Thickness of the support sides may be based on a refraction value for the lenses.